The 'Fight Doc' is in at Total MMA Studios

Dec. 12, 2013

Updated 4:23 p.m.

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Dr. William Kessler throws some punches at Total MMA Studio in Tustin. Kessler, 44, is a chiropractor who works closely with several mixed martial arts fighters. He is known as "The Fight Doc," among the MMA fighters based in Orange County. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Joshua Jones, left, from Body Shop Fitness, and Christian "The Beast" Aguilera, from Total MMA Studios, fight each other. JEFF ANTENORE, FOR THE REGISTER

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Matthew Johnson, left, from World Class MMA, and Tyler Smith, from Kings MMA, face off against each other. JEFF ANTENORE, FOR THE REGISTER

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In the examination room of his chiropractic center, Dr. William Kessler checks the flexibility on Jessica Penne's left knee. Penne, Invicta's first Atomweight champion, suffered from a tear on the cartilage of her left knee. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Dr. William Kessler throws some punches at Total MMA Studio in Tustin. Kessler, 44, is a chiropractor who works closely with several mixed martial arts fighters. He is known as "The Fight Doc," among the MMA fighters based in Orange County. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Total MMA Studios

But it's where “The Beast” hopes to make a living and build his reputation.

In his first fight on a recent Friday night – with dozens of fans screaming – the 21-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Christian Aguilera, aka The Beast, is kicking the snot out of his 23-year-old challenger, Joshua Jones.

He has Jones on the ground. In a mixed martial arts match, this is where the action begins. In what seems like 30 seconds, The Beast – a bulky, midsized 170 pounds – begins a series of rapid punches to his opponent's face.

Aguilera takes advantage of having Jones powerlessly pinned to the mat. Like a machine, he lands blow after blow until Jones' nose starts spewing blood. The crowd goes nuts. Aguilera is a shark in bloody water.

Between cheers and gasps of excitement that the fight has produced gore, some of the spectators order more drinks from the cocktail waitresses in corsets. Now they are entertained. From the stands at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, they command The Beast to finish him off.

He squeezes as many rapid-fire jabs as he can before the round ends.

The air horn goes off. It's over.

THE ‘FIGHT DOC'

William Kessler, chiropractor to mixed martial arts fighters, tries to make it easier for fighters such as The Beast to take a beating for a living.

For those who dream to lead the rough life of competitive combat, the owner of Tustin-based Kessler Family Wellness says he doesn't want to make it any more painful than it already is.

Kessler, 44, moved to Orange County from Pennsylvania his sophomore year in high school. Even then, it was “the hot bed of MMA.”Now in Tustin, he makes sure a fighter is healthy before receiving his next pounding.

Kessler is a celebrity among fighters – they call him the “Fight Doc.”

During fights, Kessler's signs are everywhere: on the ring, on shirts, even on the back of a fighter's trunks.

He's been treating fighters for 23 years, but not all of his patients at his Tustin office are fighters. It's not uncommon to see a 10-year-old boy with an aching ankle sitting next to Ultimate Fighting Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the waiting room.

“He rolls out the red carpet for everyone,” Jackson said of Kessler in a recent phone interview. “Not just fighters.”

ROUND 1: first patients

Kessler's career started with treating the best fighters.

After graduating from the chiropractic school at the Southern California University of Health Sciences, Kessler's first patients were already at the top of the mixed martial arts game.

Back then, he said, fighters were tired of having to go to different gyms for different disciplines, so they collaborated with an investor to start an all-inclusive gym called No Limits. Kessler was the gym doctor.

Kessler's first patients were Tito Ortiz and Rico Rodriguez – champions in the early 2000s – when mixed martial arts first gained popularity.

When the gym closed three years later, Kessler decided it was time to strike out on his own. The fighters followed him.

BACK IN THE RING

Aguilera limped around the caged ring after the final round. He knew he had won the match, but his own face was swollen

Panting, he waited for his trainers to be allowed inside the hexagon.

Kessler, a stocky man, sat in a leather-upholstered area close to the ring that Friday night. Probably the best seats in the house. His hair slicked back, he had a drink in one hand and a VIP bracelet on his wrist.

Between matches, fighters and trainers went to greet him, shaking his hand or giving him a hug as if reuniting with an old friend.

They all called him “Doc.”

This adrenaline-pumping spectacle is his relaxation time.

“I had 209 patients this week,” he said. “Time for me to have a little fun.”

ROUND 2: THE PRACTICE

Sitting in his Tustin office recently, Kessler says he never advertises.

“Everything's word of mouth with me,” he said.

“The managers, coaches, promoters and fighters themselves just know that I'm the guy that can fix you.”

He has a mostly brawny staff of 16, including a team of medical doctors, masseuses and pain management specialists at his office on the corner of Warner and Red Hill avenues.

Family photos of the couple and their two young sons are sprinkled along the walls of Kessler's private office.

Autographed photos and sports paraphernalia line every wall of his office. He calls his office an MMA museum.

He talks with his hands about every fight exhibited on his office walls, while showcasing his own misshapen knuckles from bouts past.

ROUND 3: INSIGHT

Kessler's training in Muay Thai, jiujitsu and wrestling – all combat sports – give him insight on how to treat his patients.

Fighters can tell that he can relate to them.

“Normally when you're hurt, you go see the doctor and the first thing he tells you is to stop training,” said Adriano “Nasal” Pereira, a Brazilian fighter close to Kessler. Pereira owns Total MMA Studios, a mixed martial arts gym in Tustin, and says he sends his fighters to Kessler.

“We are professional fighters, so you can't stop training. He knows that.”

Having gone through major back surgery and experienced “just about every injury” since he started training at 12, Kessler understands fighters.

“We have a very good track record of fixing someone on a Monday and needs to be in the cage on a Saturday,” he said.

While Kessler understands that sometimes medicine is necessary, he prefers to heal an injury through days of physical therapy.

And it's not just professionals who he puts in extra time with to heal.

ROUND 4: amateurs

Jackson might be a celebrity, but at Kessler's office he's just another patient.

“I'll have a couple of kids in the room, and Rampage will come in and I'll sit him down next to them, and they'll just be giddy as all hell.”

Jackson, a former light heavyweight champion for Ultimate Fighting Championship, has been seeing Kessler for 10 years.

“He cares,” Jackson said in a recent phone interview. “I mean, he watches my fights. He knows when I'm hurt so he tells me, ‘Come on in here. I know you injured your knee.'”

Kessler treats many amateurs, too.

Amateurs don't make a lot of money but still have to find ways to fund their training and their inevitable doctor visits. Health insurance is not a reliable option for those who make a living getting hurt.

Kessler sponsors amateur matches and fighters regularly. He sees the payback in his exposure at fights. His banners are draped at venues, and his name lines the padded poles of the ring.

“I've seen the fighters become more rounded, and the sponsorship opportunities have become greater,” Kessler said. “I see it heading in a very good direction.”

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